ML050660228

G20050149/LTR-05-0108 - Rep. Randy Cunningham San Onofre Nuclear Generating Station (Harriet Pellar)

ML050660228
Person / Time
Site:	San Onofre
Issue date:	02/09/2005
From:	Cunningham R US HR (House of Representatives)
To:	Susan Abraham NRC/FSME, US Dept of Energy (DOE)
Pham B M/NRR/DLPM/PD-2,415-8450
Shared Package
ml050730496	List: ML050660228
References
G20050149, LTR-05-0108
Download: ML050660228 (6)

Text

EDO Principal Correspondence Control FROM: DUE: 03/24/.5S EDO CONTROL: G20050149

. DOC DT: 02/09/05 FINAL REPLY:

Representative Randy "Duke" Cunningham (DOE Referral)

TO:

Annette Vietti-Cook FOR SIGNATURE OF : ** GRN ** CRC NO: 05-0108 Reyes, EDO DESC: ROUTING:

San Onofre Nuclear Generating Station (Harriet Reyes Pellar) Virgilio Kane Merschoff Silber Dean DATE: 03/03/05 Burns/Cyr Mallet, RIV ASSIGNED TO: CONTACT:

NRR Dyer SPECIAL INSTRUCTIONS OR REMARKS:

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OFFICE OF TIHE SECRETARY CORRESPONDENCE CONTROL TICKET Date Printed:Afar 02, 2005 18:02 PAPER NUMBER: LTR-05-0108 LOGGING DATE: 03/02/2005 ACTION OFFICE: EDO AUTHOR: REP Randy Cunnigham AFFILIATION: REP ADDRESSEE: Spencer Abraham

SUBJECT:

San Onofre nuclear generating station ACTION: Signature of EDO DISTRIBUTION: OCA to Ack LETTER DATE: 02/09/2005 ACKNOWLEDGED No SPECIAL HANDLING:

NOTES: DOE referral dated 2/23/2005 FILE LOCATION: ADAMS DATE DUE: 03/24/2005 DATE SIGNED:

EDO - -G20050149

PLEASE RESPOND TO:

RANDY "DUKE" CUNNINGHAM 6TH DISTRICT, 2350RAYBURN HOUSEOFFICE BUILDING i CAUFORNIA

° WASHINGTON, DC20515-0550 12021225-6452 COMMITTEE ON APPROPRIATIONS 1202)225-2558 FAX SUBCOMMITTEES:

613WESTVALLEY PARKWAY

- DEFENSE SUITE320 ESCONDIDO, CA92025 LABOR, HEALTH AND HUMAN 1858)755-8382 SERVICES, AND EDUCATION Congrcus of tht 'Ii3nitcd 1760)737-8438 1760)737-9132 FAX DISTRICT OF COLUMBIA ~5tatcs E-MAILVIAWEBSITE:

PERMANENT SELECT COMMITTEE ON INTELLIGENCE liousc of Rprrsntatiucs http:/A~ww.house.gov/cunningham Wtashington, DC 20515-0550 February 9, 2005 The Honorable Spencer Abraham Secretary Department Of Energy 1000 Independence Avenue, S.W.

Room 7A-257 Washington, DC 20585 ---

Dear Secretary Abraham:

Enclosed please find an opinion from my constituent, Harriet Pellar. My constituent has expressed concern regarding San Onofre Nuclear Generating Station. Because of the specific nature of this concern, I believe your office would be best suited to answer this properly.

I have sent a letter to the constituent advising of the referral to you. I hope that you will be able to provide timely assistance.

Thank you for your attention to this matter. If you have any questions, please feel free to contact Dusty Strawn in my Washington office.

With best regards, Sincerely,

- --. Randy "Duke" Cunningham -

Member of Congress RDC:ds PRINTED ON RECYCLED PAPER

San Onofre's "water heaters" also Shut down Nan Onofre all need to be replaced (about 30 per costs), and dismantling costs.

To the Editorm unit). Cost? Just another $7 million for But there are even more costs -

Right now, S'an Onofre Nuclear each plant, but there's more: - for example, the energy that Pipes have.Veen cracking - proba- will be needed to take care of Generating StatioAn is in a bad way. bly they all need to be replaced, too the waste for the next million Nearly everything in the whole facility is (especially, ifthe recent accident in years, including the disman-cracking apart. It is enibrittled, frail, old. tled pieces and the "spent" Its -bones are hardened. Its arteries are Japan that killed five workers teaches us clogged and stiff. It keeps popping and anything).That's a couple more hundred fuel. Such equations also poofing, bursting and sPilling, leaking, million dollars that could go to renew- ignore any energy expended on spraying, steaming, venting, dripping, able energy solutions instead. caring for the millions of sick gushing, pouring out poisons into our Strapping for crane lifts has gotten and dying that would result enviromnent. i old and failed. This reportedly cost over from a serious nuclear acci-The tritium released fr~om the plant $5 million to fix. dent.

The plant is a wreck waiting to hap- Nuclear energy is a finan-alone is a major environmental concern cial rat-hole as well as a terror-for swimmers and surfers in the water pen. Radiation ages things (including up and down the coast from the plant. humans). Salty air destroys most metals. ist's primary target. San Onofre Tritium is absorbed by thei body every- San Onofre is breaking down far faster makes money only for its where, because chemically, it is just than "industry standards" because immediate owners, who are many nukes in America use fresh-water practically given uranium fuel radioactively altered water. Tritium has a half -life of about 12 years and while it lakes and rivers for coolant. Not San bytheU.S.Government,which does occur naturally, there is no good Onofre - it uses sea water. also promises (but so far has reason on Earth to increase the dose to -But despite San Onofre's accelerat- failed) to take it away after it p)eople.e: ed aging, the plant's owners are usually has been turned into radioac-

-behind the-eight ball-vhen-it-comes-to tive waste (at great profit) by

-hi Inhi.curse of its daily operation Southern California Edison.

the plant also-releases Cs-sium-137, repairing things. "Let it fail, then fix it Strontium-90, uranium, plutonium (both quietly" seems to be their operating - _ San Onofre can and should in a variety of isotopes) and more than motto. be shut down no. While oper-200 other radioactive "daughter prod- Even fork lift tines have dropped ating, it is thousands of times X ucts" of the nuclear reaction. The suddenly, due to aging. That should more vulnerable to terrorism nuclear industry and the lame-duck, never happen. or forces of nature than when it industry-flunky "regulators" who watch - Transformers have exploded is shut down, even though the it assert that these releases are harm- because they were old, throwing shards fuel will still be there long less. It is foolhardy to agree with them of glass onto the nearby railway and after the last watt of electricity freeway (they are so close!). Old break- is produced, and it will still be when so many of the mechanisms for ers have exploded and burned, causing a danger. But it's much more damage by radioactivity are well-known dangerous now, and now is a in the scientific community and undeni- hundred-million dollar outages. (But in keeping with their motto, the 130-or so perfect time to cut our losses.

able to any unbiased observer. similar breakers were not replaced.) Russell Hoffman When the nuclear industry started promoting its dogma about how clean Workers have been exposed to radi- Carlsbad nuclear power was, far fewer of these ation. Releases to the public have facts were established, such as the role occurred, and there have even been of "free-radicals" in the creation of can- threats of domestic sabotage directed cer. Now, these things are much better against the plant - for example, from known, but the entire nuclear industry an extremely well-armed disgruntled refuses to acknowledge these issues. worker who knew the plant intimately They still try to convince people that a because he had broad access little of their radiation, scattered into privileges before being demot-your body randomly through pollution, ed and eventually fired.

might even be good for you. It isn't. One It's time to shut San Onofre atonmi aea -idda your bodjF tan down. Its power is replaceable. -a - 'a Our land and our lives are not. --

bonds - creating tritium inside your body, for instance, or breaking apart a Onofre's twin reactors generate delicate protein - the structure of life. ing 500 pounds of extremely One damaged DNA strand can lead to toxic waste every day because fetal deformities or cancer. we are too lazy to build large-San Onofre's "steam generators" scale renewable energy sys-need to all be replaced - two per plant, tems is a deadly sin we should two plants - total cost: estimated con- stop committing.

servatively by the company at about But even if we did not con-

$600 million - it will probably be a lot vert to renewable energy, con-more. And they'll have to slice into the sider this: It's fairly easy -to.

uni-body "containment dome" to do the prove that nuclear power does, replacement, seriously and permanently not generate any "net" energy weakening that structure. And the whatsoever, anyway. That's rea.- -

replacement parts, unlike the originals son enough right there to get (which were never supposed to need to rid of the plants. This assertion be replaced, but they aged much more stems from the incredibly ener-rapidly than expected), won't even be gy-intensive processes need to made in America, subject to American mine and refine uranium into inspections, or made to American stan- fuel, as well as construction dards of quality (what's left of those costs (and reconstruction standards, anyway).

' M Department of Energy Washington, DC 20585 February 23, 2005 Ms. Annette Vietti-Cook Executive Secretariat Nuclear Regulatory Commission 1 White Flint North Building 11555 Rockville Pike Rockville, MD 20852

Dear Ms. Vietti-Cook:

Because the subject of the attached letter does not fall within the purview of the Department of Energy, we are forwarding it to your agency for response.

If you have any questions, please call me on (202) 586-8923.

Sincerely, Brenda L. a Work Group Leader Correspondence and Records Management Office of the Executive Secretariat Printed with soy inkon recycted paper